The new soul movement is front and center on this debut. This group of
friends from a small town outside of Bath, England use horns, fuzz and
samples to create an album of lo-fi beauty. It transports its listeners into
a basement somewhere in the cool part of town — a place where you
would find a small stage lit by black light and a smoke-filled room.
Kelvin Swaby leads the band with vocals that are soul drenched and
seemingly posed by the devil. His lyrics are inspired by the heartache
and torment of youth. The music is a perfect compliment with its rough
analog production.
They do a great job of making a diverse album that's raw and pretty at
the same time.
On the opener "Brukpocket's Lament," they create a song using lounge
influenced trip-hop ala Portishead, combined with lyrics that are
driven by demons. A few songs later they seduce you with "That Kind of
Man," cranking up the energy with loud horns and a disco influenced bass line.
They slow it down again with "Doing Fine," an acoustic pop tune about
the emotional aftermath of a breakup. I can hear his tears when Swaby
sings the chorus, "Don't tell me you love me-leave me-don't fuck with
my head… forget about the love you had."
The Heavy recently wowed the crowds at SXSW and have headed back to
England with many new fans. Currently on a tour of Europe, they are
sure to find more than a few converts over there as well. It's not
everyday that a band like this comes along. Sure radio will probably
never play them, but who needs radio anymore. They are too cool to be
heard by the masses anyway. But don't hesitate to make them your
little secret.
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